NBC News Clinton campaign correspondent Andrea Mitchell anchored her MSNBC show from Charlotte and spent the hour repeatedly complaining and lamenting with an array of guests that FBI Director James Comey’s announcement about Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal has overshadowed the Clinton/President Obama rally and that it was supposed to be “the day” of days.
Right off the top of the show, Mitchell complained that she was broadcasting from Charlotte “where Hillary Clinton's planned first joint appearance of President Obama today has been completely overshadowed by the FBI Director's statement.”
Fellow NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker brought the spin of unfortunate timing to the set as she lamented that Clinton “is going to be holding her first joint appearance right here in Charlotte with President Obama, it's undoubtedly going to cast a cloud over this event.”
“And it could not have come on a more important day. This was the day. She’s coming in on Air Force One, President Obama bringing her here, embracing her, literally and figuratively, the most important validator of her trustworthiness and viability as a candidate, according to the campaign,” Mitchell added.
With Clinton not facing charges, Mitchell demanded later in the show to Dr. Ben Carson that Donald Trump stop calling her “Crooked Hillary” and suggesting she should go to jail:
But would your advice to Donald Trump be to stop hammering away on she belongs in jail, she belongs in prison, Crooked Hillary, should he change his response now, his tweets and his other campaign speeches? Do you think he should move on and talk about her judgment and talk about the criticisms that the FBI Director made?
Speaking later to Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, Mitchell parroted lines from the Clinton and Obama camps that they “cannot be happy at the timing of this, nor can the White House, with President Obama now arm in arm with her coming off Air Force One when they hoped he would be the great validator for her against the charges he's not trustworthy.”
>>Find all of the coverage on Hillary Clinton not being indicted on NewsBusters here<<
Marcus agreed, but went onto to attack Trump and Republicans for suggesting the American legal system is rigged (in the same tone that MSNBC’s Beth Fouhy did hours earlier) [emphasis mine]:
I think that for Donald Trump to insinuate wait and say actually straight out in his tweet that this is more evidence that the system is rigged is extraordinarily unfair to Director Comey, the folks at the FBI, the folks at the Justice Department. There's just no indication of that the meeting with the Attorney General and Bill Clinton was really unfortunate, but I think that his argument, it's very clear that Hillary Clinton should be in jail is an argument that was false at the time he was make it and it's just, does a disservice to the serious questions that you could raise about Hillary Clinton's behavior to be saying that she should be in jail or that this is evidence that the system is rigged.
Near the tail end of the program’s Clinton coverage, Washington Post presidential campaign reporter John Wagner described Comey has having “trampled upon” the Clinton/Obama rally (that the liberal media have been so desperately waiting for):
Yes, and I guess the show will go on in a couple of hours over at the Charlotte convention center, but the message of the day has certainly been trampled upon, but it is, you know, this was supposed to be a triumphant moment with the President and also very strong statement about the Clinton's campaign, Clinton's campaign belief and what they can do in North Carolina.
The relevant portions of the transcript on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports from July 5 can be found below.
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports
July 5, 2016
12:01 p.m. Eastern
ANDREA MITCHELL: And good day, everyone I'm Andrea Mitchell in Charlotte where Hillary Clinton's planned first joint appearance of President Obama today has been completely overshadowed by the FBI director's statement that the e-mail investigation has been concluded, he is now recommending criminal charges, but Director Comey presented a devastating political indictment portraying her as careless in her handling of classified materials and flatly disputing her year-long assertion that nothing she sent or received was classified at that time.
(....)
12:13 p.m. Eastern
KRISTEN WELKER: She is going to be holding her first joint appearance right here in Charlotte with President Obama, it's undoubtedly going to cast a cloud over this event. I have my phone out, you do as well, Andrea. I know you've been trying to contact them, no reaction yet, but we do know that right now, they're trying to determine exactly how they are going to respond to this and this feeds into concerns about trustworthiness. Remember our latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 69 percent of voters say the issues surrounding her trustworthiness are an important issue in this campaign. This is a liability in a general election and it continues to give Donald Trump fodder. The campaign will undoubtedly come out and focus on the headline though which is that no charges could be filed.
MITCHELL: And it could not have come on a more important day. This was the day. She’s coming in on Air Force One, president Obama bringing her here, embracing her, literally and figuratively, the most important validator of her trustworthiness and viability as a candidate, according to the campaign.
(....)
12:22 p.m. Eastern
MITCHELL [TO BEN CARSON]: But would your advice to Donald Trump be to stop hammering away on she belongs in jail, she belongs in prison, Crooked Hillary, should he change his response now, his tweets and his other campaign speeches? Do you think he should move on and talk about her judgment and talk about the criticisms that the FBI director made?
(....)
12:33 p.m. Eastern
MITCHELL: And Ruth, the campaign cannot be happy at the timing of this, nor can the White House, with President Obama now arm in arm with her coming off Air Force One when they hoped he would be the great validator for her against the charges he's not trust worthy.
RUTH MARCUS: A little bit stepping on the message of the day, but I'd like to go back and say somebody about the Republican nominee because I think that for Donald Trump to insinuate wait and say actually straight out in his tweet that this is more evidence that the system is rigged is extraordinarily unfair to Director Comey, the folks at the FBI, the folks at the Justice Department. There's just no indication of that. The meeting with the Attorney General and Bill Clinton was really unfortunate, but I think that his argument, it's very clear that Hillary Clinton should be in jail is an argument that was false at the time he was make it and it's just, does a disservice to the serious questions that you could raise about Hillary Clinton's behavior to be saying that she should be in jail or that this is evidence that the system is rigged.
(....)
12:47 p.m. Eastern
JOHN WAGNER: Yes, and I guess the show will go on in a couple of hours over at the Charlotte convention center, but the message of the day has certainly been trampled upon, but it is, you know, this was supposed to be a triumphant moment with the President and also very strong statement about the Clinton's campaign, Clinton's campaign belief and what they can do in North Carolina.
